Ali Carter admitted on Monday that he was still reeling from the
“sledgehammer” blow of being diagnosed with testicular cancer. He will
undergo an operation today, followed by a course of chemotherapy.

Positive: Ali Carter has been diagnosed with testicular cancer but remains upbeat about his chances of beating the diseasePhoto: ACTION IMAGES

By Harry Maguire

5:09PM BST 01 Jul 2013

The former world No 2, who has fought Crohn’s disease, a debilitating inflamed bowel condition, in recent years, is determined to return to the circuit once his treatment is complete.

Carter, 33, from Chelmsford, has received words of support from Jimmy White, who was given the all-clear not long after a similar diagnosis and operation 18 years ago.

"I was on holiday in Dubai and rubbing some sun cream on myself and felt a lump, and said to my girlfriend, ‘That doesn’t feel right,' " father-of-one Carter said.

&lt;noframe&gt;Twitter: Ali Carter - Thank-you to everyone for there support! Just want to get through this week then I will concentrate on getting better. Love you all!&lt;/noframe&gt;

"Initially I thought it might have been the heat, but the testicle got harder and harder when I was playing in China. I got back, had a day with my boy and then went to the doctor’s and within half an hour I had been sent for a scan and told what it was. It hit me like a sledgehammer. One minute you’re driving to the doctor’s thinking it’s a cyst or something, and then you’re told that.

"The consultant told me they thought it was a teratoma, a can­cerous tumour, and that I needed an operation and then chemotherapy. From the CT scan there was positive news, it hadn’t spread and has been caught relatively early. All being well I am going to be OK, but obviously you don’t know how the chemo will make you react.

"I rang Jimmy White straight away. He is the only person I know who has had it. He has been a great support and I have spoken to him a couple of times. His was serious but caught early and treated. He knew I just have to get in there, have the operation and take the time to recover."

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn said: "I have spoken to Ali, and I wish him all the best. Jimmy White has had this, other people have it. It can be devastating news to receive, but we know already from his fight with Crohn’s disease that Ali is a fighter. And he knows everyone in snooker is 100 per cent behind him and wanting him to pull through this."